Working Together Conference 2025

Thank you to all who attended our 2025 Conference


We had a jam packed conference this year, so much so, that unfortunately we could not fit in all of the planned sessions - we are looking into putting extra sessions in the near future in order to pick up the items we missed. 


We were delighted to have our chair, Jean, back to open the conference and give an overview of our involvement, progress, and challenges going forward. 


This was followed by an inspiring story by Oliver Thomason and his brother Craig who took us through all he has achieved on his SEND journey after leaving education. 


Louise Atkin then set the SEND scene looking at the national picture and work that is being undertaken locally, recognising the difficulties being faced locally and nationally for those with SEND.


Natalie and Sharon then presented the initial feedback of our SEND survey.  CLICK HERE to see this presentation and the subsequent full survey report.


Max and Laura then went through the LOCAL OFFER - what is available on there and plans for updates.


Unfortunately the planned session on SEN Support / Graduated response had to be dropped from the agenda due to overrun - These are now being run as A DAYTIME SESSION ON 9TH MAY and AN EVENING ZOOM SESSION ON 13TH MAY


Over lunch we shared slides of those nominated for a special mention - our SEND superstars for supporting our families.


After Lunch Nina Jackson, our keynote speaker, gave us a truly inspirational address about "Finding the Fizz" showing how rather than focussing on "Special Educational Needs and Disabilities" we should instead be looking at "Living and Learning Differences" and how best to support our youngsters in a much more positive way, sharing lots of insights and resources with us, including a PADLET with useful links and information.


Steve Tatham ran through the SEND priorities and SEND services from a health perspective.


Emily and Isabel, Educational Psychologists, ran through details of their service and looked at Emotionally Based School avoidance.  This is a complex service to understand and we will be looking at arranging future sessions to break this down a bit more for our families.


More inspiration was then on the cards as Darren "Foz" Foster opened up about the SEND journey from as Dad's perspective, including the ALRIGHT LAD group—a laid-back, no-judgment zone for dads & lads who care for a child or young person with disabilities. 


It was our honour to close the conference at the end of the day by presenting our chair, Jean Fitzpatrick, with a lifetime achievement award.  Across the room people stood up to declare the difference that Jean has made in their service and in their lives.


Thank you to all who involved who made this such a vibrant and interactive conference.  We will be updating this page to include feedback received on the day.


Conference Slides


The full slide deck is available to download below


Download the presentations

Gallery

By Gail Hall September 3, 2025
A statement from our chair  Warrington Parents and Carers want to reassure you that we are very aware of the current issues around home to school transport. There have been historical problems with the coordination and communication of transport for a number of years but we have certainly seen an escalation during the lead up to this term. Although WarrPAC work with reduced capacity during the Summer break, given our own caring responsibilities, we have been working away, fielding all of your concerns, including some of our team concerns as here at WarrPAC we are not immune to transport issues either! We have offered assistance, guidance, information and advice where possible and have escalated all of your complaints to the transport team and the education lead at the Local Authority. I have spoken on a number of occasions to the SEND Lead and transport team personally and asked specifically that they prepare the statement below. WarrPAC are committed to working with parent/carers to capture your voice, concerns, ideas and solutions to ensure our children and young people’s transport is fit for purpose going forward. Please keep in touch VIA EMAIL , via our Website and Social media as we are planning a face to face consultation with parents/carers where we are hoping the Local Authority will be present and able to address, answer and plan appropriate transport arrangements for our children and young people. Please know we ARE working tirelessly on your behalf to ensure services are fit for purpose. We are guilty of not sharing enough about the work we are involved in and that needs to change. So please get behind us and help us to exact the changes needed. The more voices we have alongside us, the more impact we can have and the more we can help change. Thank you for your support in advance Jean Fitzpatrick Chair: Warrington Parents and Carers Message from the Transport Team at Warrington We know that over summer, some of you have experienced delays in receiving information about your child’s arrangements for transport to school or college. First and foremost, we would like to apologise for this disruption. We know how important clear and timely communication is in helping families prepare for the start of the academic year. This year, we have had a significantly higher volume of requests than in previous years. This is a national trend, and something in Warrington we’re trying hard to manage and provide the best possible support. The team have been working hard to finalise arrangements for applications that were submitted before the 15 August deadline, and we believe there are now only a few cases where we are asking parents to support with transport, while we finalise operator contracts. Please be assured that we are giving this our full attention and will continue to work with families until all submissions are resolved. Equally, we are also committed to working through applications made after 15 August as soon as possible. We are grateful to WARRPAC for their constructive scrutiny. They represent your views, and we are committed to keep listening to and working with WARRPAC, to try to prevent any delays in future. Useful information and quick survey SEND TRAVEL ASSISTANCE page on the local offer outlines how to apply, eligibility, types of offer and changes in circumstances If you have any queries about your application, please contact sendtransport@warrington.gov.uk or call the SEND Team on 01925 442175 We have created a very brief survey to see how SEND transport is faring this year - you can complete it HERE
By Gail Hall May 14, 2025
Learn more about the graduated response for special education in Warrington for children and young people that need extra help in schools
An artist 's impression of a large building with a bus parked in front of it.
By Gail Hall April 30, 2025
Making significant changes to maintained special school provision
By Gail Hall April 5, 2025
We have collated, analysed and reported on the annual SEND survey. Check out the results here
People sat in a circle
March 5, 2025
Our Check in & Chat sessions are your opportunity to chat with the team and other parent carers and share your experiences.
By Gail Hall March 4, 2025
Evening Zoom Session May 13th 2025 - Graduated Response with Jo Nulty
People sat in a circle
March 3, 2025
Our Check in & Chat sessions are your opportunity to chat with the team and other parent carers and share your experiences.
Logo Image
March 3, 2025
Warrington Parents and Carers are proud to be joining once again with our Local Authority and NHS partners to present our "Working Together Conference"
People sat in a circle
March 3, 2025
Our Check in & Chat sessions are your opportunity to chat with the team and other parent carers and share your experiences. Kathryn and Emma will be attending to provide an overview of the ongoing project looking at 'toilet access' within schools.
People sat in a circle
March 3, 2025
Our Check in & Chat sessions are your opportunity to chat with the team and other parent carers and share your experiences.